{"id":7090,"date":"2022-12-19T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/?p=7090"},"modified":"2025-11-13T14:17:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T20:17:38","slug":"104-what-law-codes-were-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/?p=7090","title":{"rendered":"104. What Law Codes Were For"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/pt02pg104-Origins-of-Law-B.webp\" alt=\"If the &quot;law codes&quot; of ancient kings like Hammurabi weren't actual laws, then what were they?\" class=\"wp-image-9895\" style=\"width:1200px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Oh dear. What&#8217;s Hammurabi gone and done <em>this<\/em> time.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-margin-for-link\"><input type='hidden' bg_collapse_expand='6a59d7cc7ba810080533777' value='6a59d7cc7ba810080533777'><input type='hidden' id='bg-show-more-text-6a59d7cc7ba810080533777' value='View Transcript'><input type='hidden' id='bg-show-less-text-6a59d7cc7ba810080533777' value='Close Transcript'><div id='bg-showmore-hidden-6a59d7cc7ba810080533777' ><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Constitutional Law<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Part 2: \u201cWhat Were They Thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Digression: \u201cA History of Government in 6 Revolutions: From the Paleolithic to Philadelphia\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">104. What Law Codes Were For<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Panel 1: The State and Lady Justice stand back-to-back. The State, a living marble statue, wears a bronze Corinthian helmet with a red plume, a tunic of blue-and-gold marble, bronze greaves, stone sandals, and is carrying a spear and shield of bronze. Lady Justice wears a pale blue blindfold and matching gown, and suspended from one hand are her scales of justice.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">NARRATION: As we have seen\u2014and as we will continue to see\u2014rulers need for people to feel that their authority is <strong>legitimate.<\/strong> And as we have seen\u2014and will continue to see\u2014legitimacy comes from a perception that the ruler ensures <strong>justice.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">THE STATE:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">If people feel that their government does a good job ensuring <strong>justice<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">LADY JUSTICE:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u2026then they\u2019ll feel that their government\u2019s authority is <strong>right<\/strong> and proper.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">THE STATE:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">But if a ruler <strong>cannot<\/strong> protect people from unfair outcomes and abuses of power\u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">LADY JUSTICE:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u2026then who cares what <strong>he<\/strong> says?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">-=-<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Panel 2: Sargon the Great, a\/k\/a Sargon of Akkad.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">NARRATION: Remember <strong>Sargon?<\/strong> The first to prove that it\u2019s one thing to conquer lands, but another thing entirely to keep them?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">SARGON:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">All my charisma and military genius? Not enough.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">I literally changed my <strong>name<\/strong> to Sargon, \u201c\u0160arru-k\u0113n\u201d\u2014which translates to \u201cthe kind is legitimate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">I figured if everyone <strong>said<\/strong> it enough, they\u2019d start to <strong>believe<\/strong> it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">-=-<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Panel 3: An ancient Mesopotamian city-state, with a great ziggurat temple and a fortified wall.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">NARRATION: But that didn\u2019t work, either, and not long after he died, Sargon\u2019s empire disintegrated back into a bunch of independent city-states\u2026 \u2026whose rulers now faced the same dilemma.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">VOICE 1: At least Sargon <strong>had<\/strong> charisma.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">VOICE 2: What\u2019s <strong>that<\/strong> supposed to mean?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">-=-<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Panel 4: Stick figures of two ancient Mesopotamians, one a regular person, the other a king with royal headwear and beard. The regular person is showing a stele to the king.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">NARRATION: We don\u2019t know who was first, but one of these local priest-kings commissioned a <strong>monument<\/strong> to himself\u2014a tangible, emotional proof that he was on the job, serving his people\u2019s need for <strong>justice.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">MAN:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">It shows you proclaiming a <strong>code<\/strong> of fair rules.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">KING:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">That is <strong>so<\/strong> me.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">-=-<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Panel 5: The stick figures contemplate the words carved on the stele.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">NARRATION: But the code carved on this monument was much <strong>more<\/strong> than a list of rules.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">MAN:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Notice how the text has a formal, <strong>religious<\/strong> rhythm?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">KING:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">It feels like reading <strong>scripture.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">-=-<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Panel 6: The stick figures continue to discuss the stele.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">NARRATION: The text had been written in a <strong>liturgical<\/strong> style that would have been familiar to everyone in Mesopotamia.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">MAN:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Everyone who can <strong>read,<\/strong> anyway.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">KING:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Right: Everyone whose opinion matters.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">-=-<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Panel 7: Two Mesopotamian men in tufted skirts by a law-code stele. One wears a helmet, the other\u2019s bald head is bare. The bareheaded man is crouching to press his finger against the stele.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">NARRATION: People emotionally associated this style with the <strong>authority<\/strong> of the gods, and with a sense that the gods were trying to <strong>protect<\/strong> us.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">HELMET MAN:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">I can\u2019t put my finger on it, but something about this monument makes me <strong>want<\/strong> to obey our king.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">BAREHEADED MAN:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">I <strong>have<\/strong> to put my finger on it, so I can follow along with all these tiny words.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">-=-<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Panel 8: A map of the eastern Mediterranean and part of the Middle East, with coastlines as they existed in the early Bronze Age. The land of the Hittites is in brown. The land of Mesopotamian culture is in green, with orange dots showing the location of its city-states. The land to the south of Mesopotamia is marked \u201cTHIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK,\u201d and the land to the east of Mesopotamia is marked \u201cTHIS SPACE ACCIDENTALLY LEFT BLANK.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">NARRATION:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">As a <strong>symbolic act,<\/strong> that first \u201claw code\u201d monument must have succeeded very well, because all across Mesopotamia, other kings quickly started <strong>copying<\/strong> it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Even the nearby Hittites copied the idea.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">For <strong>over 350 years,<\/strong> Mesopotamian kings commissioned law code monuments to reinforce a cultural narrative that they were wise and just.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">It worked <strong>great!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Until Hammurabi came along and <strong>ruined<\/strong> everything.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">-=-<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">FOOTNOTE:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Oh dear. What\u2019s Hammurabi gone and done this time.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><\/div><\/div><a id='bg-showmore-action-6a59d7cc7ba810080533777' class='bg-showmore-plg-link bg-arrow '  style=\" color:#9ca7a5;;\" href='#'>View Transcript<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>. \u00a0 Oh dear. What&#8217;s Hammurabi gone and done this time. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[48,35,63,60,1,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-brief-history-of-government","category-constitutional-law","category-inventing-the-law","category-the-institution-revolution","category-uncategorized","category-what-were-they-thinking"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 4.9.10 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If the &quot;law codes&quot; of ancient kings like Hammurabi weren&#039;t actual laws, then what were they?\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"max-image-preview:large\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nathan\"\/>\n\t<meta name=\"msvalidate.01\" content=\"CB184FE4CADC154F7ED629ED6A403A0A\" \/>\n\t<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/?p=7090\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"generator\" content=\"All in One SEO (AIOSEO) 4.9.10\" \/>\n\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"aioseo-schema\">\n\t\t\t{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawcomic.net\\\/guide\\\/?p=7090#article\",\"name\":\"104. 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